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1
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What account does Helen Keller give of her family?
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10
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ANS: Helen Keller tells about
her family that her father was from the line of Casper Keller who was a
native of Switzerland and settled in Maryland. One of her Swiss ancestors,
was the first teacher of the deaf in Zurich. Her grandfather, Casper Keller’s
son was settled in Alabama. Her grandmother Keller was a daughter of
Alexander Moore. She was also second cousin to Robert E. Lee. Her father,
Arthur H. Keller, was a captain in the confederate Army. Her mother, Kate
Adams, was his second wife. Her grandfather, Benjamin Adams, married Susanna
E. Goodhue. He lived in Newbury, Massachusetts. Their son, Charles Adams, was
born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He had moved to Helena. He married Lucy
Helen Everett, who belonged to the same family of Everett’s as Edward Everett
and Dr. Edward Everett Hale.
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2
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Give a brief description of the house in which the Keller
family lived. Why does Helen call her old fashioned garden as the paradise of
her childhood?
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10
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ANS: The Keller family lived
in a tiny house. It consisted of a large square room and a small one. It was
built by her father after the Civil War. It was completely covered with
vines. The Keller homestead was called ‘Ivy Green’ because the house and the
surrounding trees and fences were covered with beautiful English ivy. Helen
used to feel along the square stiff boxwood hedges. She was guided by the
sense of smell. When she was in a bad mood or temper she would go there to
find comfort. She would find joy in the garden of flowers. She used to wander
happily from spot to spot. Whenever she came upon a beautiful vine she would
recognize it by its leaves and blossoms. She found the roses in the garden to
be very heart satisfying. She called her garden the paradise of her
childhood.
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3
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How did Helen learn to know many things? How did she
communicate that she wanted food?
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10
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ANS: Helen was a quick and
eager learner. Her hands felt every object and observed every motion. In this
way, she learned to know many things. She began to make crude signs to
communicate with others. She would shake her head to imply “no” and a nod to
say “yes” pull meant “come” and a push meant “go.” Helen Keller used sign
language to communicate with family. She had learnt some gestures for certain
things. She could understand most of the things that were going around her.
At five she had learnt how to fold and put away the clean clothes. She could
identify her own clothes. Whenever she wanted food she had special gestures
to communicate. If she wanted bread then she would imitate the acts of
cutting the slices and buttering them. If she wanted Ice cream she would
shiver and point to the freezer indicating cold.
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4
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How did Helen entertain whenever she was in a company?
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10
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ANS: Helen was a good
entertainer. As a child she was very active and impressed all by her acts.
She knew how her mother and aunt used to dress when they were going out. She
always begged them to take her with them. She would run upstairs before
anyone could stop her to put on her idea of a company dress. She used to copy
the actions of the elders in the house. She used to stand before the mirror
as she had seen others do. She anointed her head with oil and covered her
face thickly with powder. Then she pinned a veil over her head so that it
covered her face. Everybody enjoyed it. Helen never missed an opportunity to
copy anything new in the house. It was always great fun whenever she was in
the company of elders. It used to be a good entertainment for all.
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5
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How did Helen start realizing that she was different from
others? Give a few instances.
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10
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ANS: In the beginning, Helen
was a normal child and participated in all the activities without thinking
about the outcome. She enjoyed each act. She was a good source of
entertainment for the family. She does not exactly remember when she found
herself different from others. But she started realizing it before the
arrival of her teacher. She noticed that her mother and her friends did not
use signs as she did when they wanted anything done. She noticed that
everyone talked with their mouths. She moved her lips but could not utter
words like others. Sometimes she stood between two persons who were
conversing and touched their lips. She used to copy them but she could not
understand and was vexed. She moved her lips and gesticulated frantically
without result. This made her so angry that she kicked and screamed until she
was exhausted. She used to hurt her nurse Ella, out of frustration. Every
time she failed in her efforts she repeated her naughty actions.
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6
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How did Helen and Martha Washington work together in the
kitchen? What does it show about their relationship?
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10
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ANS: Helen and Martha
Washington were good friends. Martha was the child of her cook. She
understood her signs. Martha always accepted her dominance which pleased
Helen. They gave good company to each other. Helen was very comfortable in
her company. Both of them used to spend a great deal of time in the kitchen.
They used to knead dough balls. Helen loved making ice cream and grinding
coffee. They also had a fight over some issues, like making cake. Quarrelling
over the cake bowl was very frequent. They used to feed the hens and turkeys
that swarmed about the kitchen steps. Their working together shows the bond
between the two. They were not only good friends but understood each other
well. Martha was a great support for Helen. Though sometimes there was a
communication gap between the two, both used to manage it with time.
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7
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How did Helen convey to Martha when she wanted to go
egg-hunting? Why did she never allow her to carry the eggs? What does it show
about Helen?
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10
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ANS: Helen and Martha were
good friends and gave good company to each other. Whenever Helen wanted to do
something she used to share it with Martha. But sometimes there was a
communication gap and Helen could not tell Martha what she wanted. When she
wanted to go egg-hunting, she would double her hands and put them on the
ground which meant something round in the grass. Martha would always
understand. When they found a nest she never allowed Martha to carry the eggs
home. She made her understand by signs that she might fall and break them. It
shows that Helen was very sensitive and kind as a child. She wanted to see
the eggs but did not want them to be broken. She was kind to the birds. Her
empathy towards birds and their eggs always stopped Martha from taking the
eggs away.
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8
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How did Helen Keller feel around Christmas time?
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10
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ANS: Christmas time was
special time for every one. Though Christmas time was the best time for Helen
Keller too but she did not take much interest in it. Getting ready for
Christmas was always a delight for her. She enjoyed the pleasant odours that
filled the house. She liked the titbits that were given to Martha and her to
keep quiet. They got pleasure in petty activities. Both of them were naughty
so they were not allowed to move here and there freely. To keep them engaged,
however, they were given some small jobs to do. They were allowed to grind
the spices, pick over the raisins and lick the stirring spoons. She hung her
stockings because the others did. The ceremony did not interest her. Everyone
was eager for the day of gifts. Everyone used to plan to get up early in the
morning for the surprises. Helen was not so curious as to wake up before
daylight before the others did.
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9
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Why was Helen frustrated? How did she express it?
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10
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ANS: Helen had realized that
she was different from others. She noticed people not using gestures while
speaking. It made her conscious. She wanted to express herself. She used
signs to express herself. She had learnt some signs. The few signs that she
was using were not adequate enough to communicate with others. She wanted to
participate in conversation actively but could not cope up with others. Her
failures to communicate frustrated her. It led to the outbursts of passion.
Her spirit was broken and she would often break down in tears and physical
exhaustion. Being unable to communicate, her outbursts became more frequent.
She started misbehaving with Martha and her nurse. She was a sensitive girl
and wanted comforts from any one around her. Whenever she found her mother
around, she sought comfort in her and crept into her arms. Sometimes, her
mother too was deeply grieved.
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10
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Why did Helen’s parents feel helpless? What efforts did
they make to solve her problem?
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10
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ANS: Helen was unable to
communicate. She used sign language while communicating. But her sign
language did not satisfy as she had learnt only limited signs. She noticed
others communicating without using gestures. She understood her limitations.
Due to her failure to communicate, Helen’s outbursts became more frequent.
She would break down in tears and would be physically exhausted. She used to
get comfort from her mother. She crept into her arms. But sometimes her
parents were deeply grieved at her condition. They tried to find out some
solution. They were helpless as that they lived a long way from any school
for the blind or deaf. There was not any possibility of getting a home tutor
for her. Their friends and relatives doubted whether she could be taught. Her
mother had read an account of Lava Baidgman from Dicken’s “American Notes”
and remembered that she was deaf and blind but had been educated.
Unfortunately, the doctor had been dead many years and his methods had
probably died with him.
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11
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Why was Helen taken to Baltimore by her parents? How did
Helen describe her journey to Baltimore?
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10
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ANS: Helen’s father had heard
of an eminent and successful oculist in Baltimore. Her parents decided to
take her to Baltimore to see if anything could be done for her eyes. Helen
describes the journey as very pleasant. She made friends with many people on
the train. Someone gave her a box of shells and her father made holes in
these so that she could string them and this kept her busy and contended for
a long time. She spent her time with the conductor by playing with his punch
machine. Her aunt made her a big doll out of towels. It had no eyes and this
struck Helen as odd so she plucked beads off her aunts cape and indicated to
her to sew them on. She had no fit of temper during the whole journey as she
had so many things to keep her mind and fingers busy.
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12
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What was the only hope of Helen’s mother? Why was she
disappointed soon?
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10
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ANS: Helen was unable to
communicate. She used sign language while communicating. But her sign
language did not satisfy as she had learnt only limited signs. She noticed
others communicating without using gestures. She understood her limitations.
Due to her failure to communicate, Helen’s outbursts became more frequent.
She would break down in tears and would be physically exhausted. She used to
get comfort from her mother. She crept into her arms. But sometimes her
parents were deeply grieved at her condition. They tried to find out some
solution. Her mother wanted to help her but she herself was helpless. She had
no solution to her problem. Helen mother’s only ray of hope came from Dickens
“American Notes”. She had read his account of Laura Bridgman and remembered
vaguely that she was deaf and blind yet had been educated. She hoped that it
would help Helen also. But unfortunately, she remembered that Dr. Howe who
had discovered the way to teach the deaf and blind had been dead many years.
It again disappointed her.
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13
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Describe the ‘most important day of my life’ as Helen
calls it in her autobiography.
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10
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ANS: Helen wrote that the
third of March 1887 was the most important day of her life. It was the day
her teacher Anne Mansfield Sullivan came to her. Dr. Bell advised her father
to contact Mr. Anagnos, Director of the Perkins Institute in Boston. He
further advised him to ask Mr. Anagnos if he had a teacher to begin her
education. Helen’s father followed his advice and contacted Mr. Anagnos who
responded within a week. He sent Ms. Sullivan for her. Helen had a lot of
expectations from this development in her life. She desperately needed
someone to help her. She waited at the door. She guessed from her mother’s
frantic movements that something unusual was about to happen. She had mixed
feelings and emotions. She did not know what the future held for her. She was
full of hope and expectations on that day. It was really the most important
day in her life.
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14
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How did the teacher, Anne Sullivan, begin her day with
Helen?
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10
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ANS: Anne Sullivan was the
teacher who was sent by Dr. Anagnos. She brought a new hope in the life of
Helen. Her arrival was the most important event in her life. She led Helen to
her room and gave her a doll. It was sent by the little blind children at the
Perkins Institution. Laura Bridgeman had dressed it. Ms Sullivan spelled into
Helen’s hand the word d-o-l-l. Helen was flushed with childish pleasure and
pride. It interested Helen and she tried to imitate this finger play. It was
difficult in the beginning but soon she learnt it. She was so happy that she
rushed downstairs and made the letters for doll. In the following days, she
learnt to spell a great many words like pin, hat, cap and a few verbs like
sit, stand and walk. It was a new beginning in her life. Ms Sullivan brought
a ray of hope in her life.
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15
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What happened when Ms. Sullivan tried to teach her that
the big rag doll she put into her lap spelled d-o-l-l applied to both the
doll and the spelling d-o-l-l?
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10
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ANS: It was not an easy task
for Ms. Sullivan to keep Helen calm and quiet. She was in the habit of
getting irritated on trivial matters. Earlier that day, they had had a tussle
over the words “m-u-g” and “w-a-t-e-r”. Ms. Sullivan wanted to make her
understand that ‘water’ is ‘water’ and ‘mug’ is ‘mug’. Both had separate
identities. But Helen persisted in compounding the two. Ms. Sullivan dropped
the subject for the time being. She wanted to renew it as soon as she got the
first opportunity. Helen becomes impatient at her repeated attempts. She
seized the doll and threw it up upon the floor. It was broken into pieces.
Helen had no regret for it. She was rather satisfied that the cause of her
discomfort was removed. Her teacher quietly swept the fragments to one side
of the hearth. She brought Helen her hat and took her out in the warm
sunshine
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16
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How was the summer of 1887 special for Helen? How did
Helen learn the joy of nature?
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10
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ANS: It was the time when
Helen felt a sudden awakening of her soul. She explored with her hands and
learnt the name of every object that she touched. It opened up a wonderful
world for her. The more she explored the happier and confident she grew with
rest of the world. Ms Sullivan gave her first lessons in nature at the banks
of the Tennessee River. She learned how the sun and the rain grow out of the
ground. She experienced the two aspects of the nature. She could understand
the joy of nature. She came very close to nature and had nice thoughts and
sweet dreams under the tree of paradise. Ms Sullivan unfolded the beauty of
nature for Helen with the passage of time. She took her to the banks of the
Tennessee River. There she had her first lessons in the beneficence of
nature. How every tree is pleasant to the sight and good for food, how birds
build their nests. She could now appreciate how the squirrel, the deer, the
lion and every other creature finds food and shelter. Ms Sullivan helped her
in understanding the mystery of nature.
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17
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Why did Helen say that she had learnt to find beauty in
everything around her before everything else? How did Helen learn the two
aspects of nature?
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10
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ANS: Helen says that long
before she learned to do a sum in arithmetic or describe the shape of the
earth, Miss Sullivan had taught her to find beauty in everything around her.
She could appreciate the fragrance of woods. There was beauty in every blade
of grass. Now she could find the beauty in curves and dimples of her baby
sister’s hand. Miss Sullivan had linked her thoughts with nature and made her
feel that birds and flowers were her happy peers. She had an experience which
taught her that nature is not always kind. One day she and Miss Sullivan
decided to sit on a seat of branches in a tree. Miss Sullivan suggested that
they should have their lunch there. Helen promised to stay still while she
went to fetch it. Suddenly a change passed over the tree and the sky turned
black. A strange smell came up from the earth. It was the arrival of a
thunderstorm. Helen was terribly scared. She longed for her teacher’s return.
The wind was so powerful that she was almost knocked by it. She clung to the
branch and saved herself. She wanted to jump but she was terrorized. Her
teacher seized her hand and helped her down. This way Helen had learned a new
lesson that nature could also be sometimes unkind.
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18
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According to Helen how was it easier for a normal child to
learn language than that of the deaf one? How does Helen’s field of inquiry
broaden with time?
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10
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ANS: After the arrival of
Miss Sullivan Helen was maturing day by day. She was learning the language
gradually. Expressing her views on language learning, she said that children
who hear, acquire language without much effort. The normal child catches the
words easily. He can hear what others say and learn them. But it is difficult
for a deaf child. He finds it difficult to catch the words from the lips. The
little deaf child has to trap the words in a very slow process. It is very
painful for him/her. It takes time for language learning. Helen was growing
inquisitive day by day. Initially she asked very few questions. When her
teacher told her about a new thing she accepted that much information without
any query. Now as her knowledge of things grew, she learnt more words. She
was now eager to know more and more. Her field of inquiry had broadened. She
would return again and again to the same subject eager for further
information. She was getting curious with every passing day. Her field of
inquiry was broadening day by day.
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19
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How did Helen finally understand the meaning of the word
‘love’?
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10
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ANS: Helen was keen to know
the meaning of the word ‘love’. Her teacher tried to kiss her but Helen did
not like anyone except her mother to kiss her. Miss Sullivan put her arm
around her and spelled into her hand ‘I love Helen’. Still Helen wanted to
know what love is. Her teacher pointed to her heart and said ‘it is here’ but
Helen could not understand anything unless she touched it. She asked her
teacher whether love was the sweetness of flowers or the warmth of the sun
but was greatly disappointed that her teacher could not show her love.
Finally her teacher taught her the process of thinking and explained that
just as one cannot touch the clouds, one cannot touch love either but one
feels the sweetness it pours into everything-without love one would not be happy
or want to play.
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20
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How did Miss Sullivan teach Helen to take part in a
conversation?
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10
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ANS: A normal child learns a
language by constant repetition and imitation. The child catches the words
from lips easily. It is difficult for a deaf child to do so. He cannot catch
the words from
the lips. Helen lacked this kind of opportunity. So, it was difficult for her to learn the language. Miss Sullivan realized this. She was determined to supply the kind of stimulus she lacked. She repeated to her as far as possible verbatim what she heard. She showed her how she could take part in the conversation. Helen took a lot of time to take an initiative. Miss Sullivan worked hard and repeated the conversation. Ultimately with her strong determination Miss Sullivan made it possible for her to take part in a conversation. |
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21
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How did Miss Sullivan help Helen in learning to read? What
did Helen say about Miss Sullivan, her teacher?
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10
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ANS: Miss Sullivan worked
very hard with Helen. She gave her slips of cardboard having printed words in
raised letters. She learned that each printed word stood for an object, an
act, or a quality. She had a frame in which she could arrange the words in
little sentences. Before she put sentences in the frame she used to make them
in objects. She found the slips of paper which represented words like “doll”
“is” “on” “bed” . She placed these slips to make a sentence. In this way she
learnt to make sentences. Same way she learnt ‘girl is in wardrobe’ and
played this game for hours which delighted her. She took the book “Reader for
Beginners” and hunted for the words she knew. She enjoyed it as the game of
hide-and-seek. Thus she began to read. Miss Sullivan was a very important
person in Helen’s life. It was she who brought light in the life of a blind
girl. Helen appreciates her teacher Miss Sullivan wholeheartedly. She says
that it was her teacher’s genius, her quick sympathy, her loving tact which
made the first years of her education so beautiful.
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22
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Why did everything Helen learn seemed like play and not
work to her?
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10
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ANS: Miss Sullivan was a good
teacher. She taught Helen everything by illustrating. She always related new
words with a beautiful story or a poem. Whenever anything interested her she
talked it over with her just as if she was a little girl herself. She did not
dread learning. Miss Sullivan had a wonderful faculty for description. She
quickly went over uninteresting details and never nagged her with questions.
She introduced dry technicalities of science making every subject so real
that Helen always remembered what she taught. Helen herself was a good
learner. She took interest in everything Sullivan told her. Helen was now a
curious child. She had now more patience to learn. She had more and more
questions to ask and Sullivan had a wonderful way of teaching her. This all
seemed to Helen like play and no work.
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23
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What was Keller’s Landing? How did Keller learn geography
there?
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10
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ANS: Miss Sullivan was now a
great support for Helen. She was helping her in broadening her faculty of
learning. She started teaching Helen geography. For this she chose Keller’s
Landing. Keller’s Landing was an old tumble-down lumber-wharf on the
Tennessee River. It was used during the civil war to land soldiers. Helen and
her teacher spent many happy hours there. She used this place to learn
geography. She built dams of pebbles. She made islands and lakes and dug
river beds all for fun. Helen never dreamed that she was learning a lesson.
She made raised maps in clay so that she could feel the mountain ridges and
valleys and follow the course of the rivers with her fingers. Miss Sullivan
made a good use of this place to teach geography to Helen.
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24
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How did Helen experience the first Christmas after Miss
Sullivan came to Tuscumbia?
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10
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ANS: It was a wonderful
experience for Helen. She celebrated it as a great event. Everyone in the
family had some surprises for her. Helen was pleased that Miss Sullivan and
she had prepared surprises for everybody else. The mystery surrounding the
gifts was her greatest delight and amusement. Her friends dropped hints and
half spelled sentences and aroused her curiosity even more. She and her
teacher kept up a guessing game and Helen grew more and more exciting as
Christmas approached. She was waiting eagerly for the when she would meet the
Santa Claus. The company of Miss Sullivan made it a special day for her.
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25
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What did Helen do on the Christmas Eve? How did she spend
her Christmas night?
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10
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ANS: Helen celebrated the
Christmas with great excitement. It was a great event for her. On Christmas
Eve, the Tuscumbia school children had their tree and invited Helen. Helen
danced and capered around the tree in ecstasy. There was a gift for each
child and this delighted Helen. She was permitted to hand the presents to the
children. She did not look at her own gifts but when she was ready for them,
she became impatient for the real Christmas. Her teacher assured her that she
would get nicer gifts. She had to content herself with the gifts from the
tree and leave the others until morning. She was waiting for the special gift
from her teacher. She was more excited over the gifts to be given by Santa
Claus. That night Helen hung her stocking and lay awake a long time
pretending to be asleep and keeping alert to see what Santa Claus would do
when he came. At last, she fell asleep with a new doll and a white bear in
her arms.
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26
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Helen was no longer a restless, excitable little creature
on her journey to Boston. Why?
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10
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ANS: Another important event
in Helen’s life was her journey to Boston. This journey was different from
the journey to Baltimore. She was accompanied by her teacher, her mother and
her doll Nancy. She remembered the journey she had made to Baltimore two
years before. That time she required everybody’s attention to keep her
amused. She was restless and excited. But now she was content to sit quietly
beside Miss Sullivan who told her about all the sights that she saw out of
the car-window. This time she had a good companion with her. On the seat
opposite Helen sat Nancy, her big rag doll. She was content in playing with
her. She made herself believe that she was asleep. Helen was now a mature
girl. In two years, she had learnt a lot about the world around her. She was
no more restless and excited.
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27
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Why was Helen delighted and amazed at the Perkins
Institution for the Blind?
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10
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ANS: Helen was delighted and
amazed at the Perkins Institution. She made friends with the little blind
children. She was delighted that they knew the manual alphabet and found it
joy to talk with other children in her own language. She felt like she was in
her own country in the school where Laura Bridgman taught. It took her time
to appreciate the fact that her new friends were blind. She was aware of her
blindness but found it impossible that all the children around her were also
blind. She remembers the surprise and the pain she felt as they placed their
hands over hers. She was happy when she talked to them. She was surprised to
know that they could read books with their fingers. She realized that all the
children were deprived of sight and sound. But she found all of them happy
and contented. Helen lost all the pain in the pleasure of their
companionship. She was happy there.
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28
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How was Helen fascinated with the ocean?
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10
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ANS: Helen had read about the
ocean in books only. She had never experienced the touch of the sea. Helen
had lived inland and had never been around the ocean. She had read in a book
called “Our World” a description of the ocean. It filled her with wonder and an
intense longing to touch the mighty sea. Her little heart leaped high with
excitement. Her long cherished wish was going to be fulfilled. She wanted to
feel it roar. She always longed for an opportunity to touch the ocean. When
she came to know about the arrangement she was happy. It was a dream come
true for her. That is why she was delighted when it was arranged that her
teacher and she would spend their vacation at Brewster on Cape Cod. She had
heard about the sea and of the wonderful sea stories.
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29
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What did Helen feel when she plunged into the cool
water?After her experience in the seawater how did Helen enjoy?
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10
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ANS: When Helen plunged into
the cool water, the buoyant motion of the water filled her with a joy. She
felt as if the waves were playing games with her. It was an exotic moment for
her. But suddenly her ecstasy gave place to terror as her foot struck against
a rock. There was a rush of water over her head. Helen tried to grasp some
support but all in vain. The waves tossed her around and she was very
frightened. She was saved by her teacher. She had a scary experience at sea.
After Helen had recovered from this experience she thought it great fun to
sit on a big rock in her bathing-suit and feel waves. She felt the pebbles.
Now she was enjoying her experience with the rocks and the beach. She was not
scared of the water or the rocks.
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30
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How did Helen feel when she returned in the autumn to her
southern home?
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10
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ANS: Helen returned to her
southern home in the autumn. She had a heart full of joyous memories. She was
filled with wonderful experiences of her visit to the North. She enjoyed
information she had from there. She lived herself into all things and was
never still a moment. Her life was full of motion. She had met many people.
All the people talked to her by spelling into her hand. It made her feel
important. It gave her a lot of pleasure. Now she was enjoying herself there.
She felt as if her barren mind was blooming. She had developed a bond with
others. Now, Helen was not an ordinary stubborn girl. She had matured a lot.
Her visit to different places had developed her faculties of understanding
the environment and people around her. She had developed an affection with
nature. Her interaction with people in North gave her a lot of joy.
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31
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How does Helen describe Fern Quarry? Why does Helen call
their cottage a sort of rough camp? How did the men spend their time in the
evening at Fern Quarry?
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10
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ANS: Helen spent the autumn
months with her family at their summer cottage on a mountain. It was about
fourteen miles from Tuscumbia. It was called Fern Quarry, because near it
there was a limestone quarry. Three little streams ran through it from
springs in the rocks above. The opening was filled with ferns. It completely
covered the beds of limestone. It also hid the streams. The rest of the
mountain was thickly wooded. There were great oaks. The trees were always
full of butterflies and buzzing insects. Helen was delighted to lose herself
in the green hollows of that tangled wood. It was a place of wonders for
Helen. Helen calls their cottage a sort of rough camp because their cottage
was situated on the top of the mountain among oaks and pines. The small rooms
were arranged on each side of a long open hall. Round the house was a wide
piazza where the mountain winds blew, sweet with all wood scents.
In the eveningthe men played cards and spent time in talk and sport. They told stories of their wonderful feats with animals they had shot. |
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32
|
How did the snow in New England surprise Helen? Describe
the snowstorm that Helen witnessed. Which little poem did Helen think of when
she saw all that snow?
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10
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ANS: She remembers how
surprised she was on discovering the snow. She felt that a mysterious hand
had stripped the trees and bushes. There were left only the wrinkled leaf.
The birds had flown with snow. Winter was on hill and field. The earth seemed
benumbed by his icy touch. The trees had withdrawn to their roots. The
withered grass and the bushes were transformed into a forest of icicles. It
was a new experience for Helen. When a snowstorm came, they rushed outdoors
to feel the snow. The flakes dropped silently. The country became more and
more level. A snowy night closed upon the world. It snowed heavily. In the
morning one could not recognize the landscape. All the roads were hidden. All
the landmarks were invisible. She thought of the following poem:
Shrunk and cold As if veins were sapless and old And she rose up decrepitly For a last dim look at earth and sea |
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33
|
Describe Helen’s way of ‘speaking’ before she actually
learnt from Miss Sarah Fuller? Why did she feel that one who is entirely dependent
of the manual alphabet has always a sense of restraint, of narrowness?
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10
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ANS: Helen always wanted to
utter audible sounds. She used to make noises, keeping one hand on her throat
while the other hand felt the movement of her lips. She used to keep her hand
on a singer’s throat or on a piano when it was being played. Before she lost her
sight and hearing she was fast learning to talk but after her illness it was
found that she had ceased to speak because she could not hear. Helen used to
sit in her mother’s lap all day long and keep her hands on her face because
it amused her to feel the motions of her lips. She moved her lips too
although she had forgotten what talking was. Helen had always known that the
people around her used a method of communication different from hers. Even
before she knew that a deaf child could be taught to speak, she was not
satisfied with the means of communication she already possessed. She felt
agitated due to narrowness that she felt of one who is entirely dependent on
the manual alphabet. She persisted in using her laps and voice and friends
tried to discourage this tendency telling, that it would lead to
disappointment.
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34
|
How did Helen hear about RagnhildKaata? What did she
resolve to do thereafter? How did Miss Fuller help Helen?
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10
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ANS: Mrs. Lamson was one of
Laura Bridgman’s teachers. She had just returned from a visit to Norway and
Sweden. She came to see her and told her of RagnhildKaata, a deaf and blind
girl in Norway who had actually been taught to speak. When Helen heard about
her success story she was on fire with eagerness to meet Miss Fuller. She
would not rest satisfied until her teacher took her for advice and assistance
to Miss Sarah Fuller, principal of the Horace Mann School. Miss Fuller
offered to teach her herself and they began on the twenty-sixth of March,
1890. Miss Fuller passed her hand lightly over Helen’s face and let her feel
the position of her tongue and lips when she made a sound. Helen was eager to
imitate every motion and in an hour had learned six elements of speech:
M,P,A,S,T,I. Miss Fuller gave her eleven lessons in all and Helen was
delighted when she uttered her first connected sentence “It is warm”.
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35
|
What was the Frost King controversy? What happened when
Mr. Anagnos received “The Frost King”?
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10
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ANS: Helen wrote the story
when she was at home, the autumn after she had learned to speak. They had
stayed up at Fern Quarry later than usual. While they were there, Miss
Sullivan described to her the beauties of the late foliage, and it seemed
that her descriptions revived the memory of a story, which she must have
unconsciously retained. She thought then that she was “making up a story” as
children say and she eagerly sat down to write it before the ideas slipped
from her. Words and images came tripping to her finger ends and as she
thought out sentence after sentence, she wrote them on her Braille state. Mr.
Anagnos was delighted with “The Frost King” and published it in one of the
Perkins Institution reports. Helen was ecstatic but was soon dashed to earth.
She had been in Boston only a short time when it was discovered that a story
similar to “The Frost King” called ‘The Frost Fairies’ by Miss Margoret T.
Canby had appeared before she was born in a book called “Birdie and His
Friends”. The two stories were so much alike in thought and language that it
was evident Miss Canby’s story had been read to her and that hers was a
plagiarism.
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36
|
How did Helen react to the Frost King controversy? What
was Mr. Anagnos reaction to this?
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10
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ANS: Helen was very sensitive
girl. At first Helen had difficulty understanding this. But when she
understood, she was astonished and grieved. She felt that she had disgraced
herself and brought suspicion upon those she loved best. She racked her brain
until she was weary to recall anything about the frost that she had read
before she wrote ‘The Frost King’ but she could remember nothing. She
remembered only the common reference to Jack Frost and a poem for children,
‘The Freaks of the Frost’ and she knew she had not used that in her
composition. Mr. Anagnos who loved her tenderly thought that he had been
deceived, turned a deaf ear to the pleadings of love and innocence. Helen
suspected he believed that Miss Sullivan and she had deliberately stolen the
bright thoughts of another and imposed them on him to win his admiration.
|
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37
|
What was the incident of The Frost King? What was the
controversy?
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10
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ANS: Helen faced her first
public controversy at the age of eleven. She wrote a story which she thought
that it was her own. She titled it, “The Frost King”. It was published in one
magazine. She was embarrassed to know that it was plagiarized. The original story
was by Margaret T. Canby and called the Frost Fairies. An anonymous council
of eight adults and Mr. Agnagnos questioned Helen at the Perkins Institute,
to find out if she had plagiarized this story on purpose. She did not
remember hearing of Canby’s story before, but now believes that she must have
heard it when she was younger and forgotten about it. The whole incident was
traumatic for her and she lost the friendship of one of her dearest friends
Mr. Anagnos.
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38
|
How did the incident of ‘The Frost King’ affect Helen?
What does she tell the readers about it?
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10
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ANS: Helen was still unable
to come out the trauma after the incident of the Frost King. She was not
confident about her writing skill. She was excessively scrupulous about
everything she wrote. The thought that what she wrote might not be absolutely
her own, tormented her. No one knew of these fears except her teacher. A
strange feeling prevented her from referring to the ‘Frost King’. Whenever an
idea hashed out in the course of conversation she would spell to her, “I am
not sure it is mine”. At other times in the midst of a paragraph she was
writing she would say to herself “Suppose it should be found that all this
was written by someone long ago!” A fear would clutch her hand and she could
not write anymore that day. Helen says that even now she sometimes felt the
same uneasiness and disquietude.
|
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39
|
How did Miss Sullivan help her in getting out of the
trauma after the incident of the Frost King?
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10
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ANS: Miss Sullivan was the
only person who could understand her feelings she knew that Helen was still
unable to come out the trauma after the incident of the Frost King. She was
not confident about her writing skill. She was excessively scrupulous about
everything she wrote. The thought that what she wrote might not be absolutely
her own tormented her. No one knew of these fears except her teacher. Miss
Sullivan consoled and helped her in every way she could think of. She wanted
to restore her self-confidence. She persuaded her to write for the youth
companion a brief account of her life. Helen was fearful. Miss Sullivan urged
her to write her own sketch. She knew that if she persevered, she would find
her mental foothold again and get a grip on her faculties.
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40
|
What according to Helen were the chief events of the year
1893?
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10
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ANS: The Chief events of the
year 1893 were her trip to Washington. Miss Sullivan and Dr. Graham Bell took
Helen to the world fair. She enjoyed this period and learnt many things.
During the
inauguration she met the President Cleveland. At the Cape of Good Hope exhibit she learned about the process of mining diamonds. Dr. Bell explained to her how it was possible to send a message on wires. She visited the anthropological department. The world fair provided a glimpse of different parts of the word including India, Egypt and Rome. She also enjoyed sailing on a Viking ship. She saw Santa Maria the ship used by Columbus. |
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41
|
Why were people always asking Helen questions like “What
does this beauty or that music mean to you? You cannot see the waves rolling
up the beach or hear their roar. What do they mean to you?”
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10
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ANS: Helen got an opportunity
to visit Niagara with her teacher Sullivan. She enjoyed every moment of the
visit. She was overwhelmed by the American Falls. She was a nature loving
child. She was impressed by the natural beauty. Her response to the
surroundings invited many questions from the people. They asked her, “What
does this beauty or that music mean to you? You cannot see the waves rolling
up the beach or hear their roar. What do they mean to you?”People wondered
how such an invalid child can appreciate and enjoy the natural beauty. It
seemed strange to people that she should be impressed by the wonders and
beauties of Niagara. They were curious to know what that beauty and music
meant to her that she could neither see nor hear.
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42
|
Which subjects had Helen studied by her in 1893?
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10
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ANS: Helen did not have any
scheduled timetable for her studies. She was also not particular about any
subject. Her study pattern was not selective. She studied different subjects
on hit and miss basis. Helen had read the histories of Greece, Rome and the
United States. She had some knowledge about French. She had a French grammar
in raised print and as she already knew some French, she often amused herself
by composing in her head short exercises, using the new words as she came
across them and ignored rules and other technicalities as much as possible.
After her visit to the world fair she became serious about her studies and
followed a schedule to learn Latin and to acquire knowledge about various
subjects. Miss Sullivan helped her in her efforts.
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43
|
Which school was chosen for Helen? What was the
disappointment faced by Helen there?
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10
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ANS: The Wright-Humason
School for the Deaf was chosen for Helen. It was in the city of New York.
This was a special school. It was especially for the purpose of obtaining the
highest advantages in vocal culture and training in lip-reading. It was
chosen for Helen as she needed training in lip reading. She had an aim to
speak like others. She and her teacher both had high expectations about her
progress in this field. Despite the painstaking efforts of the teachers and
Helen herself, the progress was not encouraging. Another cause of
disappointment was arithmetic where Helen was not doing any progress as per
their expectations.
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44
|
Describe Helen’s progress in learning the German language.
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10
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ANS: Helen was taught German
by Miss Reamy, who was a famous German teacher. She had a unique and
interesting way of teaching. She made Helen very comfortable with her. She
could use the manual alphabet while teaching her. Soon Helen learnt some
small vocabulary. Now Helen and her teacher talked together in German
whenever they had a chance. In a few months she was comfortable with the
language. . Helen could understand almost everything she said. Before the end
of the first year she read ‘Wilhelm Tell’ with the greatest delight. Helen
thought she made more progress in German than in any of her other studies.
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45
|
What did Helen feel about her progress in lip-reading and
speech? How was arithmetic still a trouble for her?
|
10
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ANS: At Wright-Humason school
Helen had two disappointments. She was unable to achieve in lip reading and
arithmetic as per their expectations. Helen felt that her progress in lip
reading was
not satisfactory. Her teachers believed that she could accomplish her goal. She worked hard and faithfully but she did not reach her goal. Helen felt that they aimed too high, and were therefore disappointed. She still regarded arithmetic as a system of pitfalls. She hung about the dangerous frontier of ‘guesses. She was unable to understand the basics of the subject. She used to jump on conclusion and this fault increased her difficulties. |
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46
|
Why was Helen’s progress in French slower than in German?
|
10
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|
ANS: Helen studied French
with Madame Olivier. She was a French lady. Madam Olivier was a good teacher
but she did not know the manual alphabet. She used to give her instruction
orally. Helen had to catch up the words from her lips. But Helen could not
read her lips easily. There was always a gap between them. Helen was taught
German by Miss Reamy, who was a famous German teacher. She had a unique and
interesting way of teaching. She made Helen very comfortable with her. She
could use the manual alphabet while teaching her. So her progress in learning
French was much slower than in German. However, she worked hard and managed
to read “Le Medecin MalgreLui” She was more comfortable in German than
French. She did not like Le Medecin MalgreLui” as much as ‘Wilhelm Tell’.
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47
|
What did Helen announce as a little girl when she visited
Wellesley? Why did she prefer Harvard to Wellesley?
|
10
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ANS: Helen was a little girl
when she surprised her friends by the announcement that someday she would go
to college. She preferred joining Harvard to Wellesley. When she was asked
why she would not go to Wellesley she replied that there were only girls. The
thought of going to college took root in her heart. It was her earnest
desire. It impelled her to enter into competition for a degree. It was
opposed by her true and wise friends. When she left New York the idea became
a fixed purpose and it was decided that she should go to Cambridge. That was
the nearest approach she could get to Harvard and to the fulfillment of her
childish declaration.
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48
|
What hurdles did Helen face in her progress at the
Cambridge School?
|
10
|
|
ANS: At the Cambridge School
it was planned that Miss Sullivan would attend the classes with her. She
would interpret to her the instruction given. Her instructors had no
experience in teaching any special student like Helen. They had experience in
teaching only normal pupils. Helen’s only means of conversing with them was
reading their lips. Her studies for the first year were English history,
English literature, German, Latin, arithmetic, Latin composition and
occasional themes. Helen had been well drilled in English by Miss Sullvian.
She needed only a critical study of the books prescribed by the college. She
had a good start in French and received six months instruction in Latin. In
spite of these advantages however there were drawbacks to her progress. Miss Sullivan
could not spell out in her hand all that the books required. it was very
difficult to have textbooks embossed in time to be of use to her. For a while
Helen had to copy her Latin in Braille so that she could recite with the
other girls.
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49
|
What were Helen’s achievements in the first year of
studies at Cambridge School?
|
10
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|
ANS: In the first year of her
studies at Cambridge School, Helen had a lot of difficulties. But by hard
work and determination she overcame the hurdles. She finished arithmetic,
reviewed her Latin grammar and read three chapters of Caesar’s “Gallic War”.
In German she read partly with her fingers and partly with Miss Sullivan’s
assistance, Schiller’s ‘hiedvonderGlocke’ and ‘Taucher’, Heine’s ‘Harzreise’,
Freytag’s ‘Ausdemstaatfriedrices des Grossea’, Rich’s ‘Fluch Der Schonheit’,
Lessing’s ‘Minna von Barnhelm and Goethe’s ‘AusmeinemLeben.’ She sat for her
preliminary examinations in five languages, German, French, Latin, English
and Greek to qualify for Radcliffe. Helen overcame her handicap and succeeded
with flying colours.
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50
|
How did Helen spend her time at Cambridge when not
studying?
|
10
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ANS: Helen enjoyed the
companionship of girls of her own age. She lived with several others in one
of the pleasant houses connected with the school. It was the house where Mr.
Howells used to live and they all had the advantage of home life. She joined
them in many of their games. She even enjoyed blind man’s bluff and frolics
in the snow. She took long walks with them. She used to discuss their studies
and read aloud the things that interested them. Some of the girls learned to
speak to her so that Miss Sullivan did not have to repeat their conversation.
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51
|
What difficulties did Helen face in the first few weeks of
her second year at the Gilman School?
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10
|
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ANS: Helen faced various
difficulties in the first weeks of her second year at the Gilman School. She
did not have important apparatus for some of the studies. Many of the books
she needed had not been embossed in time. She could not begin her class in
time. The classes she was in were very large and it was impossible for the
teachers to give her special instruction. Miss Sullivan had to read all the
books to her and interpret for the instructors. for the first time in eleven
years it seemed as if her dear hand would not be equal to the task. It was
necessary for her to write algebra and geometry in class and solve problems
in physics. It was a difficult task without the help of a Braille writer. She
could not follow with her eyes the geometrical figures drawn on the
blackboard. her only means of getting a clear idea of them was to make them
on a cushion with straight and curved wires.
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52
|
How did Helen’s difficulties at Gilman School begin to
disappear? What were Helen’s views on mathematics?
|
10
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ANS: Helen had various
difficulties in the first week of her second year at Gilman school. She did
not require books and apparatus. But little by little her difficulties began
to disappear. The embossed books and other apparatus arrived. Helen threw
herself into the work with renewed confidence. Algebra and geometry were the
only studies that continued to be a difficult area. She did not have an
aptitude for Mathematics. The different points were not explained to her as
fully as she wished. She could not follow with her eyes the geometrical
figures drawn on the blackboard. Her only means of getting a clear idea of
them was to make them on a cushion with straight and curved wires. She could
not see the relation of the different parts of one another even on the
cushion.
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53
|
Which event occurred when Helen was beginning to overcome
these difficulties?
|
10
|
|
ANS: After getting the books
and other apparatus, Helen started her work. She overcame her difficulties.
But an event occurred and it changed everything. Mr. Gilman thought that
Helen was working too hard so he reduced the number of her recitations.
Because of the success of her examinations it was proved that Helen would
complete her preparation in two years. It was agreed at the beginning that
she could take five years to prepare for college. Mr. Gilman insisted that
she was overworked. Her tasks had become perplexing. He said that she could
remain at his school three years longer. Helen did not like his plan as she
wished to enter college with her class. Helen’s mother withdrew her sister
and her from the Cambridge School.
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54
|
Why did Helen’s mother withdraw her from the Cambridge
school?
|
10
|
|
ANS: It was the difference of
opinion between Mr. Gilman and Miss Sullivan that resulted in Helen’s mother
withdrawing her sister and her from the Cambridge school.
One day, in the month of November, Helen was not very well and did not go to school. Although she was not seriously indisposed, yet when Mr. Gilman heard of it she declared that she was breaking down and made changes in her studies. These changes would have made it impossible for her to take her final examinations with her class. She had to study for three years more. In the end the difference of opinion between Mr. Gilman and Miss Sullivan resulted in her mother’s withdrawing her sister and her from the Cambridge School. |
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55
|
In what way did Mr. Keith give Helen lessons in October
1898 when they returned to Boston? How did he make mathematics interesting
for Helen?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Mr. Keith played a very
important role in her life. He gave her lessons five times a week for eight
months. He explained each time what she did not understand in the previous
lesson. He assigned new work and took home with him the Greek exercises which
she had written during the week on her typewriter. He corrected them fully
and returned them to her. Mr. Keith succeeded in whittling problems small
enough to get through her brain. He kept her mind alert and eager and trained
it to reason clearly. He taught her how to seek conclusions calmly and
logically instead of jumping wildly into space and arriving nowhere. He was
always gentle and forbearing, no matter how dull she might be.
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56
|
How was Helen’s first day at Radcliffe?
|
10
|
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ANS: Helen had a dream right
from her childhood. She had a strong desire to go to college. She struggled a
lot for this dream. Her struggle for admission to college was ended. She
qualified to be eligible for admission in the college .She could now enter
Radcliffe whenever she plesed. It was decided that she should study another
year under Mr. Keith. Therefore, she entered the college in the fall of 1900.
She had looked towards it for years. Her first day was full of interest. She
was determined to compete with those who could see and hear. She had a
wonderful feeling on that day.
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57
|
Why did Helen think that college was not quite the
romantic lyceum she had imagined?
|
10
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ANS: Helen felt that many of
the dreams that had delighted her young in experience became beautifully less
and “faded into the light of common day.” Gradually she began to find that
there were disadvantages in going to college. She realized that there was lack
of time in college. Earlier she had time to think and to reflect. But in
college, there was no time to commune with one’s thoughts. One goes to
college to learn and not to think. When one enters the portals of learning,
one leaves the dearest pleasures solitude, books and imagination outside with
the whispering pines. She thought that college was not quite the romantic
Lyceum.
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58
|
How does Helen overcome the peculiar conditions under
which she works in college?
|
10
|
|
ANS: In the classroom, she
was practically alone. The professor was as remote as if he were speaking
through a telephone. The lectures were spelled into her hand as rapidly as
possible. Sometimes she was unable to race with the lecture. Most of the
content of the lecturer was lost to her in the effort to keep in the race.
The words rushed through her hand like hounds in pursuit of a hare. She could
not make holes during the lectures because her hands were busy listening.
Usually she would jot down what she could remember of them at home. She wrote
the exercises, daily-themes, criticisms and hour-tests, the mid-year and
final examinations on her typewriter.
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59
|
Which books did Helen possess at first? When did she begin
to read in good earnest?
|
10
|
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ANS: Helen was fond of
reading books. She was more comfortable with reading the books which were in
raised prints. In the beginning Helen did not have sufficient books in raised
prints. Whatever books she had were a collection of stories for children and
a book about the earth called ‘Our World’. It was during her first visit to
Boston that she really began to read in good earnest. She was permitted to
spend a part of each day in the institution library. She got a chance to
wander from bookcase to bookcase and take down whatever book her fingers
lighted upon. Helen read whether she understood one word in ten or two words
on a page.
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60
|
Describe Helen’s memories of the time she read “Little
Lord Fauntleroy?”
|
10
|
|
ANS: Helen remembers the time
and place when Miss Sullivan and she read the first chapters of the
fascinating child’s story. It was a warm afternoon in August. They were
sitting together at a short distance from the house. They had finished their
work hurriedly to have time for the story. Miss Sullivan explained to her the
things that she knew. She explained her some unfamiliar words too. At first
there were many words Helen did not know. The reading was constantly
interrupted. But as soon as she understood them the story absorbed them. When
her fingers were too tired to spell another word, she had for the first time
a sense of deprivations. She took the book in her hands and tried to feel the
letters with an intensity of longing that she can never forget.
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61
|
Which book did Miss Sullivan suggest to Helen would she
like better than ‘the scarlet letter?” Which other books did Helen read in
the next two years after “Little Lord Fauntleroy?
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10
|
|
ANS: Helen was fond of
reading books. She was more comfortable with reading books with raised
prints. She had a long list of books that she had read. Miss Sulllivan always
helped her in choosing the books. She suggested ‘Little Lord Fauntleroy’ as
the book that she would like better than ‘The Scarlet Letter’. Helen did not
remember what they all were or in what order she read them but among them
were “Greek Heroes”, “La Fontaine’s Fables”, Hawthorne’s “Wonder books”,
“Bible Stories”, Lamb’s “Tales From Shakespeare;” “A child’s History of
England” by Dickens, “The Arabian Nights’” “The Swiss Family Robinson,” “The
Pilgrim’s Progress,” “Robinson Crusoe,” “Little Women” and “Heidi”.
|
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62
|
What were Helen’s views about the Aeineid ?
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10
|
|
ANS: The Aeneid is the epic
poem about Aeneas, the mythological Greek hero and founder of Rome, by the
Roman poet Virgil. Helen’s did not admire the epic poem. For her it was not
so great. She read it as much as possible without the help of notes or
dictionary. She always liked to translate the episodes that pleased her
especially. She found the word-painting of Virgil wonderful sometimes She
found Virgil a serene and lovely like a marble Apollo in the moonlight.
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63
|
Why does Helen feel that the stories of the Greeks should
have been so full of charm for her and those of the Bible so devoid of
interest?.What does Helen find awful and impressive of the book of Esther?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Helen feels that the
stories of the Greeks should have been so full of charm for her and those of
the Bible so devoid of interest. She thought that it might be so because it
was that she had made the acquaintance of several Greeks in Boston. She had
been inspired by their enthusiasm for the stories of their country. She had
not met a single Hebrew or Egyptian and therefore concluded that they were
nothing more than barbarians, and the stories about them were probably all
made up. Helen felt that there could not be anything more dramatic than the
scene in which Esther stands before her wicked lord. Esther knows her life is
in his hands, there is no one to protect her from his wealth. Yet, conquering
her woman’s fear, she approaches him, animated by the noblest patriotism,
having but one thought: “If I perish, I perish: but if I live, my people
shall live.”
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64
|
How does Helen take her friends out rowing when they visit
her at Wrentham, Massachusetts?
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10
|
|
ANS: In spite of being deaf
and dumb , Helen was very adventures right from her childhood. She loved all
the outdoor games and never let her handicap come in her ways. She loved all
the water games like rowing and canoeing. She could not guide the boat very well.
She used to sit in the stern and manage the rudder while she rowed. Sometimes
she would go rowing without the rudder. She used oars with leather bands
which kept them in position in the oarlocks. She knew by the resistance of
the water when the oars were evenly poised. In the same manner she could also
tell when she was pulling against the current.
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65
|
What is Helen’s favourite amusement? Where all did she get
to enjoy it? What thrilling experience did she have?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Helen tells the readers
that reading was not the only pastime for her. Her favourite amusement was
sailing. Miss Sullivan and she went to Halifax where they remained the
greater part of the summer. They had glorious sails to Bedford Basin, to Mc
Nabb’s Island, to York Redoubt and to the Northwest Arm.There was a regatta
in the Northwest Arm in which the boats from the different warships were
engaged. They went in a sailboat along with many others to watch the races. A
black cloud drifted in from the sea which grew and spread and thickened until
it covered the whole sky. The wind rose and the waves chopped angrily at
unseen barriers. Their little boat confronted the gale fearlessly with sails
spread and ropes taut. She seemed to sit upon the wind. Now she swirled in
the billows. She sprang upward on a gigantic wave. She was to be driven down
with angry howl. The main sail came down. They wrestled with opposing winds.
The wind drove them from side to side with fury. They felt no fear because
their skipper was the master of the situation. The large craft and the
gunboats in the harbour saluted them as they passed them and the seamen
shouted applause for them.
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66
|
Who was Mr J.E. Chamberlain and what memories does Helen
have of him and his family? What does Helen tell us about her tree friends?
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10
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ANS: One summer Helen spent
in one of the loneliest nooks of one of the most charming villages in New
England. Wrentham, Massachusetts was associated with nearly all of her joys
and sorrows. For many years Red Farm was Helen’s home. She remembers the
little ones and their pleasure in the stories she told them. Helen had many
tree-friends in Wrenthem. A splendid oak was the special pride of her heart.
She took all her other friends to see this king-tree. It stood on a bluff
overlooking King Philips pond. It was eight hundred or a thousand years old.
She had another tree-friend, gentle and more approachable than the great oak.
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67
|
Was Helen aware of the conflicts happening in the world?
How did she react to it?
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10
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ANS: Yes Helen was quite
aware of the happening in the world war, alliance, social conflict. She heard
of the cruel, unnecessary fighting in the far. She also learned of the
struggles going on between capital and labour. She knew that beyond the
border of their Eden men were making history by the sweat of their brows.
Helen grew uncomfortable to know the plight of the poor. she did not like the
fact that the rich were living in fine houses while the poor were condemned
to live in hideous and sunless tenements.
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68
|
Who were Helen’s dog friends and in what way did they
accompany her? What does Helen do on a rainy day?
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10
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ANS: Helen had some dog
friends. Whenever it was possible, her dog accompanied her on a walk or ride
or a sail. She had had many dog friends, huge mastiffs, soft eyed spaniels,
wood wise setters and honest, homely bull terriers. At present she had a bull
terrier. He had a long pedigree, a crooked tail and the drollest “phiz” in
dogdom. Her dog friends seemed to understand her limitations and always kept
close beside her when she was alone. Whenever it was a rainy day Helen used
to remain indoors. She amused herself as other girls did. She liked to knit,
read in the happy-golucky ways she loved, here and there a line, a play, a
game or two of checkers or chess, with a friend.
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69
|
Who does Helen refer to as stupid and curious and why?
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10
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ANS: Helen always appreciated
people around her. She had a lot of good people around her. But she never
liked the people from press. The people from newspaper always irritated her.
Helen never had kind words for the news paper reporters. Her only unkind
words were for newspaper reporters whom she included in the category of “the
stupid and curious and for people who were condescending to her. She disliked
people who tried to talk down to her understanding. According to her they are
like people who when walking with you try to shorten their steps to suit
yours, the hypocrisy in both cases is equally exasperating.
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70
|
What were Helens opinions of the people she met by
touching their hands?
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10
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|
ANS: Helen was very social.
She loved to meet different people around her. She was a good observer also.
She could understand the personality of person by touching his or her hand
only. Her observation about the people around her was always correct. Helen
says that the hands of those she met were dumbly eloquent to her. The touch
of some hands was impertinence. She had met people who had no joy in their
lives. They were empty of joy. She says that when she clasped their frosty
finger tips, it seemed as if she were shaking hands with a northeast storm.
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71
|
What did Bishop Brooks friendship mean to Helen? What did
he teach her?
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10
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ANS: Helen considers it one
of the sweetest privileges of her life to have known and conversed with many
men of genius. She feels that only those who knew Bishop Brooks could
appreciate the joy of his friendship. As a child she loved to sit on his knee
and clasps his great hand with one of hers. Miss Sullivan spelled his
beautiful words about god and the spiritual world on her hand. Once when she
was puzzled to know why there were so many religions. He explained that there
was one universal religion, the religion of love. Bishop Brooks taught her no
special creed on dogma, but he impressed upon her mind two great ideas-the
fatherhood of god and the brotherhood of man and made her feel that these
were the universal truths.
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72
|
What does Helen remember of the first time she saw Dr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes?
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10
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|
ANS: Dr. Oliver Wendell
Holmes invited Miss Sullivan and her to call on him one Sunday afternoon. It
was early in the spring just after Helen learned to speak. They were taken to
his library. They found him seated in a big armchair. The room was full of
books. Helen took one book and recited one of Tennyson’s poems. She realized
that her beloved poet was weeping and Helen was greatly distressed. Dr Oliver
made her sit in his armchair. He brought different interesting things for her
to examine. On his request Helen recited “The chambered nautilus.”
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73
|
Describe Miss Sullivan and her visit with Whitter in his
home on the Merrimac.
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10
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|
ANS: Miss Sullivan and Helen
visited Whitter in his home on the Merrimac. It was a wonderful experience
for them. Helen gives an excellent account of this visit. She accounts that
his gentle courtesy and quaint speech won her heart. He had a book of his
poems in raised print from which she read in school days. He was delighted
that she could pronounce the words so well and had no difficulty in
understanding her. Helen asked many questions about the poem. She read his
answers by placing her fingers on his lips. Helen promised to visit him again
the following summer. But he died before the promise was fulfilled.
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74
|
How did Helen get her name? How was she as a child?
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10
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|
ANS: Helen was the first baby
of the family. Everyone was emphatic about her naming. Her father suggested
the name of Mildred Campbell. Her mother wished that she should be called
after her mother whose maiden name was Helen Everett. On the way to church,
her father lost the name. When the minister asked him for it, he just
remembered her grandmother and gave her name as Helen Adams. As a child,
Helen showed many signs of eagerness. She insisted upon imitating everything
that other people did. She was a quick learner. At six months she could say
‘How diye’ and one day attracted everyone’s attention by saying “tea, tea,
tea” . Even after her illness she remembered one of the words she had learnt
in the early months. It was the word “water”. She started walking when she
was a year old.
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75
|
Narrate some of the mischievous acts that Helen and Martha
did on one another and other people.
|
10
|
|
ANS: Martha Washington was
Helen’s constant companion. They had a great love for mischief. They would be
busy cutting out paper dolls. After cutting up their shoestrings and clipping
all the leaves off the honeysuckle that were within reach, Helen would turn her
attention to Martha’s corkscrews. In return Martha seized the scissors and
cut off one of Helen’s curls. Helen would try to teach her dog, Belle, her
sign language, the dog would not pay attention. This vexed Helen. It always
ended in a one-sided boxing match. One day Helen put her wet apron over hot
ashes. She made a terrified noise and was rescued by her old nurse Vinny.
Helen learnt the use of a key. She once locked up her mother in the pantry
for three hours. In order to teach her, her parents appointed a teacher, Miss
Sullivan, but Helen sought an opportunity and locked her in her room. Helen
hid the key under a wardrobe in the hall and her father had to get a ladder
and take Miss Sullivan out through the window. This act delighted Helen.
Months later she produced the key.
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76
|
What does Helen tell about her father? How did she come to
know that her father was the editor of a newspaper?
|
10
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|
ANS: Helen says that her
father was one of the most loving and indulgent fathers. He was very devoted
to his home. He would seldom leave them, except in the hunting season. He was
a good hunter and a celebrated shot. Next to his family he loved his dogs and
gun. He was very hospitable. He took pride in his garden where he raised the
finest watermelons and strawberries in the country. He was a good storyteller
and would amuse her with his clever anecdotes. Helen did not know what a
newspaper was. When she was five years old they moved to a large new house.
She remembered her father going through the newspapers. She would go to his
side and found him alone, holding a sheet of paper before his face. She was
very puzzled and wanted to know what he was doing. She even wore his
spectacles thinking they might help solve the mystery but she found out the
secret several years later that those papers were newspapers and her father
edited one of them.
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77
|
Why was Helen jealous of her little sister? What did she
do with her?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Helen had a younger
sister Mildred. She loved her. But gradually she developed jealousy for her.
Before her arrival in the family it was Helen who was getting a lot of
affection from her mother. Her mother was giving her maximum time. But now
she felt that her mother was paying more attention to Mildred. She felt that
Mildred had taken her place as her mother’s only darling. Mildred would sit
in her mother’s lap constantly. It seemed to her that she had taken up all
her time and care. She regarded her as an intruder. One day Helen overturned
the cradle where little Mildred was sleeping peacefully. She would have been
killed had her mother not come and caught her as she fell. However, in later
years they grew affectionate towards each other. They were content to go hand
in hand everywhere. Mildred could not understand her finger language nor
Helen her childish prattle.
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78
|
Why did the doll without eyes trouble Helen? What does it
show about Helen?
|
10
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|
ANS: Helen’s aunt made her a
big doll out of towels. It was the most comical shapeless thing. It had no
eyes, no nose, no mouth and no ears. Helen did not like the idea of its being
blind. When Helen felt it she became upset. She herself was blind. The idea of
a blind doll hurt her emotions. She felt offended.She wanted the doll with
eyes. She was so angry that she plucked beads off her aunt’s cape and asked
her to sew them as eyes of the doll. Helen expressed her own sadness because
she too was blind. It shows that Helen was very sensitive. She could
understand the pain of being a blind. She could not have her doll to be blind
and helpless like her. So her aunt’s making her a big doll out of towels
without eyes troubled her.
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79
|
What impressions did Helen have of Dr. Alexander Graham
Bell? How did Dr. Bell advise Helen’s father?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Helen met Dr. Alexander
Graham Bell at Washington. She was impressed by his tenderness and sympathy.
She was touched by his behavior. He showered his love on her. He held her on
his knees and even understood her signs. Helen was happy when she found someone
who could understand her sign language. She was very comfortable with him.
Dr. Bell won the heart of Helen. Helen was happy in his company but did not
expect that it would be a door through which she will pass from darkness to
light or from isolation to friendship. Dr. Bell advised her father to write
to Mr. Anagnos, Director of the Perkins Institute in Boston. He further
advised him to ask Mr. Anagnos if he had a teacher competent to begin her
education. Helen’s father followed his advice and contacted Anagnos who
responded within a week. He gave them a comfortable assurance and arranged a
teacher also.
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80
|
How did the mystery of language affect Helen Keller?
Describe her state of mind after she learnt the mystery of language as she
called it. How did Miss Sullivan teach the meaning of ‘water’ to Helen?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Helen was a bright
child. She was a fast learner. But the language was a big constraint for her.
The limited language signs she knew were not helpful now. She wanted to
communicate but always got disappointed. With the arrival of Ms. Sullivan the
world of language awakened her soul. It gave her a light, hope, and joy and
set it free. She was eager to learn everything. She realized that everything
had a name and each name gave birth to a new thought. Her teacher helped her
in learning many new words. She learnt a great many new words and was a
happier child. Ms. Sullivan was a good teacher. Helen was familiar with water
since her childhood. She could remember it. Ms. Sullivan placed her hand
under the spout of the well-house. When the cool stream gushed over one hand
she spelled the word ‘water’ on other hand. The mystery of language was
revealed to Helen. She knew then that water meant the wonderful cool
something that was flowing over her hand. Ms. Sullivan used this method to
teach her many words.
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81
|
Why does Helen destroy the new doll? Why does Helen say
that she felt neither sorrow nor regret for breaking the doll?
|
10
|
|
ANS: It was not an easy task
for Ms. Sullivan to keep Helen calm and quiet. She was in the habit of
getting irritated at trivial matters. She was trying to teach her that m-u-g
is mug and w-a-t-e-r is water but Helen persisted in confounding the two. In
despair Ms. Sullivan dropped the subject for the time. She thought that she
would take up the subject later on. This irritated Helen. She seized the new
doll and dashed it upon the floor. The doll was sent by the little blind
children at the Perkins Institution. Laura Bridgeman had dressed it. In the
beginning Helen liked the doll. But now she did not love it as it was a cause
of discomfort to her. Her teacher had tried to spell d-o-l-l by putting the
big rag doll on her lap and tried to make her understand that d-o-l-l applied
to both. She felt neither sorrow nor regret for breaking the doll as she did
not love it any more.
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82
|
How was the summer of 1887 the awakening of Helen’s soul?
How did Helen start appreciating nature? What did the thunderstorm teach her?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Helen says that she felt
sudden awakening of her soul in the summer of 1887. She explored with her
hands and learnt the name of every object that she touched. It was a phase of
new learning for Helen. It made her more joyous and confident. Thus she felt that
her soul had suddenly awakened. Miss Sullivan took her to the banks of the
Tennessee River. She had her first lessons in the beneficence of nature. She
learnt how trees grow and birds build their nests. She found her peers in all
the birds and animals. Miss Sullivan brought her very close to nature. Helen
experienced the nature in a different form too. There was a thunderstorm. It
scared her. She was saved by her teacher from a fall. She understood for the
first time that nature is not always kind.
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83
|
What examples does Helen give to her teacher to find out
the meaning of the word ‘love’? Why was she disappointed that her teacher
could not show her love? How did Miss Sullivan emphasize the process of
‘thinking’ in Helen’s mind?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Helen wanted to know the
meaning of love. Her teacher was unable to make her understand the meaning of
love. Helen had given her teacher some violets and asked her if love was the
sweetness of flowers. When the sun was shining she asked whether it was love.
Helen thought that there could be nothing more beautiful than the sun whose
warmth makes all things grow so when she asked her teacher if that was love
and her teacher replied negatively, she was disappointed.. Helen was now
getting more and more inquisitive. She wanted to know more and more about the
words and thinking process. When Helen was stringing beads of different sizes
in symmetrical groups two large beads, three small ones and so on she made
many mistakes. Her teacher pointed them out with gentle patience. Finally she
noticed a very obvious error in the sequence. For an instant she concentrated
her attention on the lesson and tried to think how she should have arranged
the beads. Miss Sullivan touched her forehead and spelled with decided
emphasis, “Think”.
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84
|
How did Helen learn arithmetic?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Helen was now good in
learning. Helen was good in learning languages and geography. But had one
subject which dreaded her. It was a challenge for Miss Sullivan to develop
her interest in this subject. She was not comfortable with learning
Arithmetic. She did not like to study it. Miss Sullivan was a good teacher.
Sullivan was an innovative teacher and developed her own method of teaching
the subject. She tried to teach her to count by stringing beads in groups.
Helen learnt to add and subtract by arranging kindergarten straws. It needed
a lot of patience but Helen found it difficult. Most of the time, she was
impatient. She did not arrange more than five six groups at a time. Once she
arranged that much of the work she went out to play. Miss Sullivan did not
lose patience and ultimately succeeded in developing her interest in the
subject.
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85
|
Why was the orchard a favorite haunt of Helen? What does
it tell about her love for nature?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Helen was now very close
to nature. Miss Sullivan taught her about the beauty of nature. Helen found
beauty in everything. The orchard was a favorite haunt of Helen. She would be
delighted when she gathered up the ripe fruit. She would press her face against
the smooth cheeks of the apples. She enjoyed every moment in the garden. She
learnt many things from there. Helen loved nature and its objects. She had
learnt to appreciate and enjoy it. She found beauty in every object of the
nature. It was a learning place for her. Miss Sullivan could make her
understand the meaning of love from there only. She developed her faculty of
thinking. While in the orchard, Helen had two teachers with her, Miss
Sullivan and Mother Nature herself. She learnt so many things by being in the
orchard.
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86
|
What were the surprise gifts Helen got on the Christmas
morning? What did she get from her teacher? What happened to that gift?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Helen found surprises
not only in the stocking but in other places too. She found them on the
table, the chairs, at the door and on the windowsill. She got a special gift
from her teacher. She presented her with a canary. She taught her to take
care of her new pet. She had a routine for her pet. Every morning after
breakfast she prepared his bath, cleaned his cage, filled his cups with fresh
seed and water from the well-house and hung a spray of chicken weed in his
swing. One day Helen had left the cage on the window-seat when she went to
fetch water. When she came back and put her hand in the cage Tim’s pretty
wings did not meet her touch. His small pointed claws did not take hold of
her finger. She understood that she would never see her sweet little singer
again. The canary was eaten up by the cat.
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87
|
What was Helen’s first lesson in history in Boston? What
interested Helen the most in Plymouth and why?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Helen spent her day with
the blind children. It made her feel thoroughly at home. Now she wanted new
experiences every day. She regarded Boston as the beginning and the end of
the creation. While they were in Boston they visited Bunker Hill. Helen had
her first lesson in history there. She enjoyed the story of the brave man who
fought on the spot where they stood. It excited her greatly. She climbed the
monument and wondered as she went higher and higher. The next day she went to
Plymouth by water. It was her first voyage in a steamboat. Helen was more
interested in the great rock on which the pilgrims landed. She could touch
it. It gave her a feeling of the presence of the pilgrims. She idealized them
as the bravest and most generous men.
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88
|
What does Helen recount about Mr. William Endicott and his
daughter?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Mr. William Endicott and
his daughter were among the many friends that Helen made in Boston. They were
very kind to Helen. Helen could not forget their generosity and kindness. She
recounted their kindness and her visit to their beautiful home in Beverly Farms.
There were many things that gave her an immense pleasure. The rose garden,
dogs and horse provided her unforgettable pleasure. She remembers with
delight how she went through their rose-garden. She recalled how their dogs,
big Leo and little curly-haired fritz came to meet her. She remembered how
Nimrod the swiftest of horses poked his nose into her hands.. She also
remembered the beach where she played in the sand for the first time. Mr
Endicott told her about the great ship that came sailing by from Boston. He
was always a good friend of her. Whenever she remembered Boston she always
recalled her time spent with Mr William Endicot.
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89
|
Describe Helen’s experience with her pet crab.
|
10
|
|
ANS: Miss Sullivan attracted
her attention to a strange object. She had captured it basking in the chilly
water. It was a horseshoe crab. Helen had seen it for the first time. She
found it strange that he should carry his house on his back. She thought that
it would be a delightful pet. She seized him by the tail with both hands and
carried him home. His body was very heavy. It was not easy to carry it home.
Helen had to use all of her strength to drag him half a mile. She asked Miss
Sullivan to put the crab near the well where he would be secure. But the next
morning he had disappeared and nobody knew where he had gone or how he had
escaped. Helen was disappointed but soon she felt happy that the creature had
returned to his original habitat, the sea.
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90
|
What happened to the pet crab? What lesson did Helen
learn? What does it show about her?
|
10
|
|
ANS: The seashore was a
favourite place for both Miss Sullivan and Helen. They used to visit it
frequently. But they could never stay for a long time there. One day Sullivan
attracted her attention to a strange object. She had captured it from the
chilly water. It was a horseshoe crab. Helen had seen such an object for the
first time. She found it strange that he should carry his house on his back.
Helen brought it home. She wanted it to have it as a pet. She made a safe
arrangement for its stay. But next day she found the crab had disappeared.
Helen realized that it was not kind to keep the poor dumb creature out of his
natural habitat. She was sure that it had gone back to the sea. This thought
made her happy. It shows her sensitivity and care for others. She had
feelings for all the creatures. She understood the importance of a natural
habitat for the animals.
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91
|
What did Helen do with Black Beauty?What happened at the
railroad one day? How did Helen and others save themselves?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Black Beauty was Helen’s
pony. He had a glossy black coat and white star on his forehead. Helen had
read the book and he resembled his namesake in every way. She spent many of
her happiest hours on his back. Sometimes when it was quite safe her teacher
would allow her to ride it alone. The pony followed her instructions. It gave
Helen a lot of satisfaction and happiness. She also gained confidence. One
day Mildred, Miss Sullivan and she were lost in the woods and wandered for
hours.They could not find the path. Helen had to feel for the rails with her
toe. She was not afraid and got on very well. Suddenly there came a faint
“puff, puff” from the distance. Helen could not see it. Mildred saw the
train. It would have been upon them had they not climbed down upon the cross
braces while it rushed over their heads. They escaped death.
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92
|
What were Helen’s feelings that she shares with the
readers about uttering her first word? Could Helen really talk in that short
time? To whom does she give credit to for her progress towards natural
speech?
|
10
|
|
ANS: It was a memorable
moment for Helen. She felt that no deaf child who has earnestly tried to
speak the words which he has never heard can forget the thrill of surprise.
She cherished the joy of discovery which came over her when she uttered her
first word. She felt that only such another person could appreciate the
eagerness with which she talked to her toys, to stones, to trees, birds and
dumb animals. She was delighted when at her call Mildred ran to her or her
dogs obeyed her commands. She said it was an unspeakable boon to her to be
able to speak in winged words that needed no interpretation. No, Helen would
not be supposed to really talk in that short time. She had learned only the
elements of speech. Helen gives full credit to Miss Sullivan’s genius, untiring
perseverance and devotion for her progress towards natural speech. Helen
needed Miss Sullivan’s assistance constantly in her efforts to articulate
each sound clearly and to combine all sounds in a thousand ways. Even then
she called her attention every day to mispronounced words.
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93
|
What happened the night before the celebration of
Washington’s Birthday? What was Helen asked to do?
|
10
|
|
ANS: The night before the
celebration, one of the teachers of the Institution had asked her a question
connected with ‘The Frost King’ and Helen was telling her that Miss Sullivan
had talked to her about Jack Frost and his wonderful works. Something Helen
said made her think she detected in her words a confession that she did
remember Miss Canby’s story of ‘The Frost Fairies’ and she laid her
conclusions before Mr. Anagnos although she had told her most emphatically
that she was mistaken. Helen was brought before a court of investigation
composed of the teachers and officers of the Institution and Miss Sullivan
was asked to leave her. Then she was questioned and cross-questioned with
what seemed to Helen a determination on the part of the judges to force her
to acknowledge that she remembered having had ‘The Frost Fairies’ read to
her.
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94
|
How did Helen feel while she visited the world’s fair with
Dr. Alexander Graham Bell and Miss Sullivan?
|
10
|
|
ANS: The summer of 1893 was
full of event for Helen . She visited the world’s fair with Dr, Alexander. It
was a wonderful and learning experience for her. She recalls with delight
those days when a thousand childish fancies became realities. She made a trip
around the world every day in her imagination. Now all her fancies turned
into reality. She saw many wonders in reality. Many inventions, treasures of
industry and skill and all the activities of human life actually passed under
her fingertips. It was an enriching experience for her. The world fair
provided a glimpse of different parts of the world including India, Egypt and
Rome. She also enjoyed sailing on a Viking ship. She saw Santa Maria the ship
used by Columbus.
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95
|
Why did Helen like to visit the Midway Plaisance? What all
did she see there?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Helen liked to visit the
Midway Plaisance because it seemed like the “Arabian Nights”. it was full of
novelty and interest. She saw the India of her books in the curious bazaar.
There were shivas and elephant gods. All the wonders of her dream were there
which she could feel. She could see the Pyramids with its Mosques and its
long procession of camels. It was an enriching experience for her. She
enjoyed the visit to Mid way Plaisance. It provided a glimpse of different
parts of the word including India, Egypt and Rome. She also enjoyed sailing
on a Viking ship. She saw Santa Maria the ship used by Columbus. She could
feel the history of the world there.
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96
|
How did Miss Sullivan help her in learning Latin? Why was
Helen unwilling to learn Latin grammar? When did she start taking interest in
it?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Miss Sullivan helped her
in her task. She used to correct her pronunciation and helped her in
correcting the grammar. Miss Sullivan sat beside her at her lessons. During
her sessions with Mr. Iron, she was of great help for her. She used to spell
into her hand whatever Mr. Irons said. She also looked up new words for her.
At first, Helen was unwilling to study Latin grammar because she thought that
it was a waste of time. She did not like analyzing every word she came
across. She did not get any pleasure in reading about noun, genitive,
singular, feminine. She thought she might just as well describe her pet in
order to know it. But gradually she started appreciating it under the
guidance of Mr. Iron.
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97
|
Who was Mr. John P. Spaulding? What thoughts did Helen
have about him?
|
10
|
|
ANS: Mr. John P. Spaulding
was a Boston philanthropist and important benefactor of Helen Keller. Helen
said that only those who knew and loved him best could understand what his
friendship meant to her. He had been kind and tender to Miss Sullivan and
her. He made everyone happy in a beautiful way. His loving presence made them
happy. He used to take a watchful interest in her work. He used to make their
work easy. Whenever Miss Sullivan or Helen was discouraged due to any
difficulty, he was there to fight with the difficulties. Helen felt that his
passing away left a vacancy in their lives that had never been filled. His
death cast a shadow of gloom over her and Helen had never felt so grief
stricken except at the time of her father’s death. He was a source of
inspiration to everybody around him.
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98
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Explain the method that was in use when Helen took her
examinations. How did she take her German examination?
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10
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ANS: The student was required
to pass in sixteen hours. Twelve hours were called elementary and four
advanced. He or she had to pass five hours at a time to have them counted.
The examination papers were given out at nine o’ clock at Harvard and brought
to Radcliffe by a special messenger. Each candidate was known not by his name
but by a number. During her German examination Mr. Gilman sat beside her and
read the paper word for word. She repeated the words aloud to make sure that
she understood him perfectly. Mr. Gilman spelled to her such changes as she
thought necessary and he inserted them.
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99
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Did Helen have the similar advantage as she had in German
in any of her examinations? What happened at Radcliffe?
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10
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ANS: No, Helen did not have
this advantage in any of her examinations. At Radcliffe no one read the
papers to her after they were written. She had no opportunities to correct
errors unless she finished before the time was up. In that case, she
corrected only such mistakes as she could recall in the few minutes allowed
and make notes of those corrections at the end of her paper. In the finals,
no one read her work over to her and in the preliminaries she offered
subjects in which she was more comfortable. But Helen was a strong and
determined person. She never gave up and worked hard for success.
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100
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How did Helen take her final examinations for Radcliffe
college? Who was instructed by the college authorities to copy papers for her
in American Braille? How did Helen face difficulties with American Braille?
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10
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ANS: On the 29th and 30the of
June 1899 she took her final examinations for Radcliffe college. The first
day she had Elementary Greek. The college authorities did not allow Miss
Sullivan to read the examination papers to her so Mr. Eugenec. Vining, one of
the instructors at the Perkins Institution for the Blind was employed to copy
the paper for her in American Braille.Braille made her task easier. But she
felt that the Braille worked well enough in the languages. She did not get
much help in other subjects. When it came to geometry and algebra,
difficulties arose. She was sorely perplexed. She felt discouraged wasting
much precious time, especially in algebra. The various signs and symbols in
geometry and algebra in three systems were very different. She used only the
English Braille in her algebra. She was not comfortable with American
Braille.
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101
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How did Mr. Keith and Helen feel two days before the
examinations?
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10
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ANS: Mr. Keith and Helen were
distressed two days before the examinations. Two days before the examinations
Mr. Vining sent her a Braille copy of an old Harvard papers in Algebra. To
her dismay it was in the American notation. Helen wrote to Mr. Vining asking
him to explain the signs. She received another paper and a table of signs by
return. She set to work to learn the notation but on the night before the
algebra examination she could not tell the combination of bracket, brace and
radical. Thus both she and Mr. Keith were distressed for the next day.
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102
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Why did Helen find the class in composition as the most
pleasant?
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10
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ANS: Helen had certain
limitations in her class. It was difficult for her to cope with the speed in
the class. In the beginning, she was not comfortable in the class. She found
it difficult to race with the lecture. The lectures were so fast for her that
she often missed their content. In the beginning it was very difficult for
her. But she found the composition class to be lively. The lectures were
always interesting, vivacious, and witty. She felt that the instructor, Mr.
Charles Townsend Copeland brought before them literature in all its original
freshness and power. She always found this class the most pleasant.
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103
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Why does Helen say that “College is not the universal
Athens, I thought it was?”
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10
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ANS: Helen had a different
idea about the college. Her childhood dream of going to the Radcliff had came
true. But soon she says that College is not the universal Athens. She says so
because she feels that there one does not meet the great and the wise face to
face. One does not even feel their living touch. They are there but they seem
mummified. She feels that we must extract them from the crannied wall of
learning and dissect and analyze them before we can be sure that we have a
Milton or an Isaiah and not merely a clever imitation.
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104
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What were the views of Helen on the story of Ruth and of
the character’s from Shakespeare’s works?
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10
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ANS: She found the story of
Ruth was oriental and the life different of those simple country folds. Ruth
was loyal and gentle- hearted. She was loved as she stood with the reapers
amid the waving corn. Her beautiful, unselfish spirit shones out like a
bright star in the night. She feels that Ruth’s love rises above the
conflicting creeds and racial prejudice. It was hard to find such a love in
the entire world. Helen read the work of Shakespeare. She loved Shakespeare.
Macbeth seemed to have impressed her the most. For a long time the ghosts and
witches pursued her even into dreamland. She could see the dagger and Lady
Macbeth’s little white hand. The dreadful stain was as real to her as the
grief-stricken queen. She read ‘King Lear’ soon after “Macbeth” and she could
not forget the feeling of horror when she came to the scene in which
Gloucester’s eyes were put out. The two characters of shylock and Satan were
long associated in her mind.
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105
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Why does Helen call literature her utopia?What did she
love next to poetry? What does Helen tell the readers of her college reading
of French and German literature?
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10
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ANS: Helen calls literature
her utopia. She says so because she feels that here she was not
disfranchised. There were no barriers that shut her out from the sweet
discourse of her book-friends. They talked to her without embarrassment or
awkwardness. Helen loved history next to poetry. She read every historical
work that she came acroos. She read o Green’s impartial, picturesque ‘History
of the English people, from Freeman’s ‘History of Europe’ to Encerton’s
‘Middle Ages’. The first book that gave her any real sense of the value of
history was Swanton’s ‘world History’. she received this book on her
thirteenth birthday.Helen says that the German puts strength before beauty
and truth both in life and in literature. She tells that the German
literature has a fine reserve which she liked. The chief glory was the
woman’s self-sacrificing love. Of the French writers that she has read she
liked Moliecu and Racine best. She found fine things in Balzac and passages
in Merimee. She admired Victor Hugo and appreciated his genius, his
brilliancy, his romanticism.
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106
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What are the special boards on which she plays these
games?
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10
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ANS: The squares are cut so
that the men stand in them firmly. The black checkers are flat and the white
ones curved on top. Each checker has a hole in the middle in which a brass
knob can be placed. It distinguished the king from the commons. The chessmen
are of two sizes, the white larger than the black, so that she has no trouble
in following her opponent’s maneuvers by moving her hands lightly over the
board after a play. The jar made by shifting the men from one hole to another
tells her when it is her turn.
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107
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What does Helen like to do when she is all alone and in an
idle mood? What are great sources of pleasure and inspiration to Helen? . How
does she enjoy the beauty of these places?
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10
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ANS: If Helen happens to be
all alone and in an idle mood, she plays a game of solitaire of which sheis
very fond. She uses playing cards marked in the upper right hand cover with
Braille symbols which indicate the value of the card. If there are
children around, nothing pleases her so much as is frolic with them. She
finds even the smallest child excellent company and children usually likes
her. Apart from the books, Museums and art stores are also sources of
pleasure and inspiration for Helen. She derives genuine pleasure from
touching great works of art. Her finger tips traces line and curve and is
happy. She discovers the thought and emotion which the artist has portrayed
by her touch. Her 6th sense helps her in enjoying the beauty of these places
and works.
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108
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Write about the happy days that Helen spent with Dr.
Alexander Graham Bell. Which different side of Dr. Bells personality did
Helen get to witness?
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10
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ANS: Helen spent many happy
days with Dr. Bell at Washington and at his beautiful home. She spent many
delightful hours listening to what he had to tell her about his experiments.
She found Dr. Bell proficient in many fields of science. He knew the art of
making every subject interesting. Along with being a great inventor, Dr. Bell
had a humorous and poetic side too. His dominating passion was his love for
children. He was never quite so happy as when he had a little deaf child in
his arms.
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109
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According to Helen who did often advise and help her in
her progress through college? Whom all did Mr. Hutton introduce Helen to?
Which other interesting people did she meet in New York?
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10
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ANS: Helen considers Mrs.
Hutton as a true and tried friend. She often advises and helps her in her
progress through college. When she finds her work difficult and discouraging,
she writes her letters and makes her feel glad and brave. She makes Helen
realize that one painful duty fulfilled makes the next plainer and easier.
Mr. Hutton introduces her to many of his literary friends. Some of them are
Mr. William Dean Howells and Mark Twain. Helen also meets Mr. Richard Watson
Gilder and Mr. Edmund Clarence Stedman. She also knows Mr. Charles Dudley
Warner, the most delightful storyteller and the most beloved friend. Once Mr.
Warner brought her to see her dear poet of the Woodlands - Mr. John Buroughs.
She met Mrs. Mary Mapes Dodge, the beloved editor of St. Nicholas and Mrs.
Riggs, the sweet author of Patsy. She often visited Mr. William Tharw of
Pittsburgh in her home, Lyndhurst.
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110
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Write a brief character sketch of Mr. Anagnos.
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10
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ANS: Anagnos is one of the
main characters in the novel ‘The Story Of My Life’. He was the director of
the Perkins Institution. He played a very important role in the life of Helen
Keller. Dr. Bell advised Mr Keller to contact him for Helen. He was very kind
and full of compassion for Helen. It was Mr. Anagnos who sent Anne Sullivan
to the Kellers’ home. He and Keller became friends. Helen found him the most
affectionate person in her life. He had her sit on his knee when she visited
the Institution. An incident ruined their friendship forever. When Keller
wrote ‘‘The Frost King,’’ she sent it to him on his birthday. Mr. Anagnos was
happy to see it. But soon he was convinced beyond doubt that it was not an
original work. He thought that Helen had intentionally plagiarized it. Their
friendship was forever ruined.
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111
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Write a brief character sketch of Dr. Alexander Graham
Bell.
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10
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ANS: Helen Keller held Dr.
Alexander Graham Bell in high esteem. Keller sensed Bell’s tender
disposition. As a child Helen felt the tenderness and sympathy for Dr. Bell .
He was a wonderful person with wonderful achievements. He has been admired by
all. The Story of My Life is dedicated to him. Keller met him first when she
was six years old. She was brought to him by her parents for advice on how to
teach her. Dr. Bell guided them to contact the Perkins Institution for the
Blind. They followed his advice. There was a good bond of friendship between
Dr. Bell and Helen Keller. He remained a friend to Anne Sullivan also. He
accompanied them on a trip to the World’s Fair. . Dr. Bell made Helen
understand how it was possible to send a message on wires that mock space and
outrun time. Besides being a great inventor, Dr. Bell had a humorous and
poetic side too. His dominating passion was his love for children. He was
never quite as happy as when he had a little deaf child in his arms.
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112
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Write a brief character sketch of Bishop Brooks.
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10
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ANS: Bishop Brooks was one of
the ‘‘many men of genius’’ Keller knew. He knew Keller from her childhood. He
spoke beautifully to her about religion, God, and spiritual matters. He was
just like a spiritual teacher. In other words he was Keller’s spiritual guru.
As a child she loved to sit on his knee and clasp his great hand with one of
hers. Once when she was puzzled to know why there were so many religions he
explained that there was one universal religion, the religion of love. “Love
your Heavenly father with your whole heart and soul, love every child of God
as much as ever you can and remember that the possibilities of good are
greater than the possibilities of evil, and you have the key to Heaven”.
Bishop Brooks taught her no special creed on dogma. He was a person who
respected all the creeds. He impressed upon her two great ideas—the
fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. He believed that these are the
universal truths.
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113
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Write a brief character sketch of Oliver Wendell Holmes.
How did he contribute to the life of Helen?
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10
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ANS: Oliver Wendell was one
of the ‘‘many men of genius’’ Keller knew. He once called upon Miss Sullivan
and Keller to visit him. Keller smelled leather and ink in the room. She
understood that she was surrounded by books. When Holmes shed a tear over a
poem, Keller was touched. He was a great source of inspiration for Helen.
When Helen recited a poem for him she could feel that he was weeping. He made
her sit in his armchair. He brought interesting things for her to examine and
at his request she recited “The chambered nautilus.”
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114
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Write a brief character sketch of Mr. Irons. What role did
he play in the life of Keller?
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10
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ANS: Helen Keller does not
give much information about Mr. Irons. But he played a big role in her life.
He was a friend of a family. Miss Anne Sullivan and Keller visited him. Irons
was a Latin scholar. He taught Keller as a student. Keller describes him as ‘‘a
man of rare, sweet nature and of wide experience.’. He taught Keller about
literature. It was Mr. Irons who taught Helen ‘to know an author, to
recognize his style as I recognize the clasp of a friend’s hand.’’
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115
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Write a brief character sketch of Mr. Keith. What role did
he play in the life of Keller?
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10
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ANS: Mr. Keith was Keller’s
mathematics instructor at the Cambridge School for Young Ladies. He was the
best Mathematics instructor at the Cambridge School for Young Ladies. He made
Keller to understand the subject. She truly understood the subject. Keller withdrew
from the Cambridge School for Young Ladies but Keith continued to teach her
mathematics as a private teacher. Keller describes him as ‘‘always gentle and
forbearing, no matter how dull I might be, and believe me, my stupidity would
often have exhausted the patience of Job.’’ Mr. Keith succeeded in whittling
problems small enough to get through her brain. He kept her mind alert and
eager. He trained her to reason clearly. Keller could conclude logically with
his help. He was always gentle and forbearing.
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116
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Write a brief character sketch of Arthur H. Keller.
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10
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ANS: Arthur Keller is one of
the main characters in the novel. He is the father of Helen Keller. He had
been a captain in the Confederate army. Keller describes him as ‘‘loving and
indulgent, devoted to his home, seldom leaving us, except in the hunting
season.’’ Helen says that her father was one of the most loving and indulgent
fathers. He was very devoted to his home. He would seldom leave them. He was
a good hunter and a celebrated shot. Next to his family he loved his dogs and
gun. He was very hospitable. He was proud of his garden where he raised the
finest watermelons and strawberries in the country. He was a good storyteller
and would amuse her with his clever anecdotes.
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117
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Write a brief character sketch of Helen Keller.
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10
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ANS: Helen Keller is the
author of the Novel. When she was an infant she fell seriously ill. She was
left blind and deaf. She is a role model for many. She was a fast learner.
She had a strong determination to fight against all the odds of life. She realized
that she was different from the others around her, but she did her best to
make herself understood. She had a loving relationship with her family,
teachers and friends. In the formative years she tried to understand why she
was so different from others. Soon she became restless and had an urge to be
like others. She became extremely wilful and sometimes hostile. Keller was a
motivated and intelligent student. She worked hard with her teacher, Mrs
Sullivan and ultimately learned to communicate. She learned to read Braille
and found the world open up further for her. Next she learned to speak. She
went on to attend Radcliffe College for her graduation. Keller worked for the
people like her. She became a vocal advocate for the physically challenged.
She educated the public about the needs of the blind, deaf, and mute. She was
a tireless social reformer.
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118
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Write a brief character sketch of Kate Keller.
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10
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ANS: Kate Keller is Helen’s
mother. She is the first person in the life of Keller. She was an early
source of comfort to Helen Keller. As a mother she could feel the pangs of a
troubled child. She was always with Helen. She understood the needs of the
troubled child and cooperated wherever it was required. She was a great
support for Helen. She always accompanied her to her schools or other places.
She went with her on all the travels. She bore all the frustrations of Helen
without any complaint. She provided her solace whenever she needed it. She
was always with Mrs. Sullivan. Kate Keller learned the manual alphabet from
her so that she could communicate effectively with her daughter. As a mother
she sometimes felt threatened by Miss Sullivan. She found that Helen was very
close to her teacher. However, soon she understood that for the sake of her
daughter that deep bonded student-teacher relationship was necessary. She is
a wonderful character in the novel.
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119
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Write a brief character sketch of Mildred Keller.
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10
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ANS: Mildred Keller is the
younger sister of Helen Keller. She is a sweet child who always accompanied
Helen. Helen used to feel jealous towards Mildred who she felt had taken her
place as her mother’s only darling. Mildred would sit on her mother’s lap
constantly and seemed to take up all her time and care. One day, Helen
overturned the cradle where little Mildred was sleeping peacefully. She would
have been killed had it not been for their mother who caught her as she fell.
In later years they grew affectionate towards each other and were content to
go hand in hand everywhere although she could not understand her finger
language or Helen her childish prattle. Mildred was always with her in her
joy and sorrows. She played the role of a good companion and a sister. She
herself was a mature and kind human being. She always helped Helen whenever
she needed it.
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120
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Write a brief character sketch of Anne Mansfield Sullivan.
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10
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ANS: Anne Mansfield Sullivan
is the most important person in the life of Helen Keller. Without her support
Helen could never do what she achieved in her life. She was a dedicated
teacher who brought light in the life of a troubled child. It was her
constant motivation and well planned strategy that enlightened the life of
Helen. When Anne Sullivan went to teach Keller, she was only twenty years old
and a recent graduate of the Perkins Institution for the Blind. She herself
had impaired vision and could understand the need of such a child as Helen.
She was a disciplined teacher. She knew the importance of discipline in
learning. That is why she became an effective and successful teacher. She was
a patient teacher for Helen. She was an effective teacher because she opted
for structured and spontaneous lessons. She understood the interest and
environment of her student and taught her accordingly. Miss Sullivan
dedicated her life to providing support for Helen Keller.
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